newb setup - first real grow

joker152

Well-Known Member
so after finding some seeds in a bag of the stanky i love to get i decided to setup a grow room in the basement(or corner of a room for growing i should say) so i germinated 11 seeds to be on the safe side and they are all fully germinated now in the veg stage and i got some money to drop a few on additional lighting. so right now i am using fluoros only and i got one set of two four foot t8 warm white bulbs and two of the two foot t8 17w "grow lights" at walmart which run at like 78k or soomething like that. first off since this is all goin down in a room surrounded by concrete the temp is always sittin at a cool 64 degrees and my growth is slow so is this a result of the somewhat low light levels or the low tempature? i have my big light mounted about a foot and a half from the plants and the two grow lights within an inch of the tops of the plants. also i have about 100 bucks to spend on more lighting and was wondering what would give me more bang for my buck cause i really want to make some money off this. http://www.hydroempire.com/store/product_info.php/cPath/3_20_107/products_id/1408 . this link is the one i have been looking at but if i order this one now would that with the fluoros be enough to get through the whole grow or would i need to add more light when i put them into flower to get a good yield. also on average how much could i expect to yield off this much light assuming i change around the fluoros at flowering time?
 

KushCanuck

Well-Known Member
Hey man, first, you can't tell how much you'll yield before it's ready to be pulled, and even then it's tough. Only growing it and getting the experience is the only surefire way of knowing :). Second, that light in the link will work for a 2'x2' area, maybe a little bigger, no more than 3'x3'.

Your lighting system, if I understand correctly, is to run the 150w and then supplemental CFL tubes? If that is the case, keep the HPS about 12" - 18" away unless you can find a great cooling solution for that light, and the CFL tubes can be propped 2" - 3" above your canopy and this will give you good light distribution. Sounds like you're on your way mate, happy growing

KC :leaf:
 

joker152

Well-Known Member
well what i plan on doing is putting the hps up top when i get it and put the fluoros on the sides to help grow good sized buds in the middle too i read through 8oz in under 100 bucks from See More Buds (great book by the way) and his yield seemed to be much larger using this method. i was also wondering if the lst training would be good for my first time. i understand the concept pretty well and it also seems like a good way to increase yield without more wattage. would i increase yield more through lst or through placing my fluoros near the middle of the plant? also due to certain constraints i currently have my 4ft warm whites a little less than two feet above but i have the "grow fluoros" a little less than two inches away
 

joker152

Well-Known Member
k so today i took a trip out to ace in search of more lumage got a six pack of the soft white 23w 27k cfl bulbs and some reflectors. The room i am in is really hard to mount lights in due to the mass amount of shit in there. so to get the reflectors mounted effectively i had to take out the 2 - 2ft grow lights from walmart which it didnt really seem like they were doing anything anyway after i bought em i read somewhere that 78k is too high to really be effective so if anyone can second that i will ditch the 78k's and go with different lights when i put these guys upstairs in the closet when i start that grow. also the reflectors i got came with plastic bulb screwins and is that bad? also the reason i got the cfl's now is cause im low on funds until a few checks come through. so i hope to get some suggestions this time around im open to help. ill get some pics of the setup up up if anyone wants to take a look.
 

KushCanuck

Well-Known Member
7800k Is high, it would still work, but your results may be hindered. I have no experience with a kelvin rating that high, but I'm sure it has a large amount of blue vegetative light and would be very weak for supplemental lighting. Otherwise the lighting system you have planned is good and training the plants really helps, I train all my plants one way or the other. Let us know how everything pans out mate

KC :leaf:
 

joker152

Well-Known Member
what kind of training are we talking about? i was considering lst with a few and i bend around the stems on each once a day also they get a few hours of oscilating fan time each day as well. oh and about the stem bending on the young-uns...i read to do this in a pretty old book so if that tecnique doesnt help your stems grow thick tell me now.
 

KushCanuck

Well-Known Member
I supercrop my grows, gives great yield:

1. I wait until the plant is around 4 - 5 weeks old or 18", whichever comes first.
2. I snap, but not sever, the main shoot (stem) below the top two sets of true internodes.
- The branch should hang or you can support it lightly by tying up to a stationary post, wall, etc.
3. Sit back and watch her grow like crazy

I've had varied results, sometimes an additional bud set on each main shoot node, sometimes new branching, but always vigorous growth on the side branches and they catch up to the main cola (which is the main idea of the technique). If you have any other questions bro, hit me with a private message and I can help you further. Peace and love

KC :leaf:
 
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